The year 1066 saw the last successful invasion of Britain, since then our coasts have been guarded by a succession of forts and castles strategically located all around the country.

Seaford Bay and the port of Newhaven in East Sussex have always been the most desired of landing zones for the enemies of Briton. British history of the area dates back to the Bronze age when a large enclosed fort was built on the cliff top. It has remained an important strategic location and continues to be so even today.

The current Newhaven Fort structure was built around the 1860’s and is believed to be the largest work of defence ever constructed in Sussex. It was also considered a vital element in Britain’s coastal defence through both World War 1 and World War 2. Following its abandonment as a military fortification, Newhaven Fort suffered years of neglect and dereliction; almost in ruins, it has now been restored to provide an award-winning visitor attraction to both the locals of Sussex but also to the many visitors to the area.

Ghostly Happenings

There are numerous reports from visitors to the Fort, when walking into the main tunnels, of being pushed, seeing dark figures slipping into the shadows and multiple orbs have been caught on the security cameras and monitoring systems, other reports include sounds and smells, people have reported the noises of chains clinking. Some believe it is the ghost of a woman called Martha who committed suicide at the fort. Other occurrences happen in the magazines and laboratory.

The forts numerous exhibitions are also a hot bed of activity. People have reported hearing the sounds of footsteps and shuffling, moans of suffering have also been heard and reported on numerous occasions. for more information on visiting newhaven fort can be found here

The Punchbowl Inn located in the sleepy village of Oakwood in and is reportedly one of the most haunted in the county of surrey.

The village is also known as Okewood Hill (or Okewoodhill). The name is derives from a local stream called the Oke. The Inn can be dated back to the 14th century (1300s) and is still in use to this day. The Inn hosts the location of the Boxing Day Meet of the Surrey Union Hunt.

The hamlet of Oakwoodhill is also mentioned in the Domesday Book, which was commissioned by William the conqueror after the defeat of King Harold at The Battle Of Hastings, (which actually took place outside Hastings in the now named town of Battle!) in Kent, in the 11th century.

Does an old landlord still call time?

There have been reports of an old bearded gentleman who apparently wanders in all areas of the pub, it has been said that he has a penchant for the bar maids, it is generally believed that he may have been one of the early landlords of the pub, who still believes that he is in charge.

Ghostly Dog

In the public bar side, to the right of the building, there is a fire place, many people have reported encountering a spectral dog, which lays by the fire in the cold weather and has been known to actually growl at people who come too close to him before appearing and then promptly disappearing again!

There have been other reports of Rotating door handles and creaking floorboards accompanied by footsteps being heard in an upstairs room, in addition, the kitchen door, which leads into the bar area, is frequently opened by an invisible entity, this however didn’t start to happen until the early 1990’s and for no apparent reason, even to this day, this is almost a daily occurrence, usually, late in the afternoon and early evening, this phenomenon has been experienced by many of the patrons many times. In addition, people have observed a ‘grey lady’ in a 17th century crinoline dress walking across the restaurant before disappearing through a wall.

Nearby Grounds

In the field opposite, which is now the cricket ground, one of the local game keepers, William Charman, who, amazingly, was 73 at the time, was fatally thrown from his horse on July 19, 1861 and his ghostly figure can be frequently seen standing by what is now, and believed to have been at that time, the entrance to the field directly opposite to the punchbowl pub. Behind the pub, which is now the car park, there are some old pig stys, these have now been listed and are prohibited from being demolished.

Untimely departing!

During their construction, a worker was mysteriously taken ill, however, he insisted on continuing to work but collapsed, and by the time a doctor was summoned, the poor chap had expired, no apparent reason could be established for his demise, but it is reported that he is occasionally seen sitting on an invisible wall eating his lunch. Perhaps he is trying to give us a clue to his untimely departing.

Demonic possession is a very rare phenomenon but is held by many belief systems to be the spirit possession of an individual by a malevolent preternatural being commonly known as a demon.

Although it happens more often that people realize, it is still considered rare. Science has swept away much of what used to be considered demonic possession. Diseases of the mind such as Schizophrenia, Tourette’s syndrome and various forms of psychosis were once regarded as signs that diabolical possession of the individule was taking place.

There are other documented manifestations of demonic possession that are not so easy to dismiss. These include those that involve multiple credible eyewitnesses reporting alleged possession victims displaying inexplicable behavior, such as levitating in the air, speaking languages they have never been exposed to, and revealing information that they could not have possibly been aware of.

Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying. Other descriptions include access to hidden knowledge (gnosis) and foreign languages (xenoglossia), drastic changes in vocal intonation and facial structure, the sudden appearance of injuries (scratches, bite marks) or lesions, and superhuman strength.

Religious Context

There is also reference to denomic possession within the Christian Bible and the Muslim Koran

The Bible gives some examples of people possessed or influenced by demons. From these examples we can find some symptoms of demonic influence and gain insight as to how a demon possesses someone. Here are some of the biblical passages: Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18. In some of these passages, the demon possession causes physical ailments such as inability to speak, epileptic symptoms, blindness, etc. In other cases, it causes the individual to do evil

A related belief is that every person is assigned one’s own special jinnī, also called a qarīn (also called a hamzaad in India & Pakistan), of the jinn that whisper to people’s souls and tell them to submit to evil desires.The notion of a qarīn is not universally accepted amongst all Muslims, but it is generally accepted that Šayṭān whispers in human minds, and he is assigned to each human being

Recent case of Demonic Possession

The present day, the following are four cases of Demonic possession since the early 1900 that have particular influence on Holywood and society at large.

Anna Ecklund – 1912-1928 – Earling, Iowa

Anna Ecklund was just 14 when she was allegedly cursed by her father and aunt – and soon she was unable to be near religious artifacts or churches. She underwent an exorcism in 1912, but her father and aunt then prayed for Satan to visit her again.

In 1928, she asked the church for help and was put in a convent. But when nuns came near her she would hiss at them, speak in foreign languages and levitate. After three more exorcisms, she was declared free of the demons.

Roland Doe – 1940s – Cottage City, Maryland

Doe – known as the inspiration behind the Hollywood film, The Exorcist – was 14 when his aunt encouraged him to use a Ouija board in the 1940s. When she died, he might have tried to contact her this way and it is believed this gave demons the chance to reach him.

When he was possessed, religious artifacts began flying off the walls and people could hear footsteps and dripping inside his home. Scratches also began appearing over his body, which levitated and contorted. His family contacted a Catholic priest and an exorcism was performed more than 30 times, sometimes injuring the priest before they were eventually successful. Doe went on to have a normal life, according to reports.

Anneliese Michel – 1973 – Germany

Anneliese was a 16-year-old Bavarian girl who had suffered with epilepsy and mental illness. In 1973, she began to hear voices, drink her own urine and became intolerant of religious symbols. She begged her family to take her to a priest to rid her of demons. Two local priests secretly agreed and performed nearly 70 exorcisms (each lasting up to four hours) in 10 months – but her parents stopped treating her health issues, and she died from emaciation and starvation. The film The Exorcism of Emily Rose is loosely based on her life.

Michael Taylor – 1974 – Yorkshire, England

Taylor was a married Christian who was accused by his wife, Christine, of having an affair with a prayer group leader. He responded with anger and continued to act erratically, leading some people to think he was possessed by evil.

He eventually underwent an exorcism that last for more than 24 hours and priests believed it to be successful. They warned that a demon may still be inside of him. When he went home, he murdered his wife and was later found wandering the streets. He was found not guilty in her murder by reason of insanity.

The Case of Latoya Ammon’s Children – 2014 – Indianapolis, US

As recently as January of 2014, the Indianapolis Star reported that Police Captain Charles Austin has subscribed to the the story of demonic possession told by Latoya Ammons, a mother of three children from Indiana. According to her, dark entities caused her three children – then aged 7, 9, and 12 – to be observed with bulging eyes, evil smiles, and strangely deep voices. Close to 800 pages of official records document the case.

At first, Captain Austin was skeptical about the strange story told by Ammons, but home visits and interviews he and his team conducted have convinced him that something supernatural took place in the home. It began in November of 2011 when Ammons reported that in the middle of winter, a swarm of flies gathered by their porch window. That was followed by strange sounds and shadowy figures leaving wet bootprints on their floors.

The incidents escalated when in March of 2012, Ammons allegedly saw her 12-year-old daughter levitating over her bed, the girl only descending after being prayed over by family members and friends but being unable to remember floating. Later, a headboard smacked into her head, causing a wound requiring stitches, and Ammon’s 7-year-old son flew out of a bathroom as if thrown. Ammon’s 9-year-old son, meanwhile, was seen by a nurse walking backwards up a wall onto to the ceiling.

Eventually, the children were taken away from Latoya because of suspected abuse, but a photo of the Ammons’ home that an officer took with his iPhone seemed to lend credibility to the troubled mother’s story. A white human-like silhouette is clearly visible in one of the windows.

A couple of years ago my partner and I went to Edinburgh for the weekend.

We did a few of the touristy things and decided to go and find the statue of Greyfriar’s Bobby.

We found it and were rather unimpressed with it, So we decided to go and have a look in Greyfriar’s Kirkyard right next to the statue. I had seen this place on a programme like Most Haunted or similar years ago but completely forgot that the place was meant to be haunted.

We wondered around the churchyard for a while, It’s actually quite a pleasant place to visit, Its like a little oasis of calm in the middle of the noisy city, After about 20 minutes or so we decided it was time to leave and find a pub.

When we got out of the churchyard I was surprised to discover 4 small scratches on my right hand, They were fresh and still bleeding, I had not scraped my hand on anything, We had stayed on the path, I didn’t touch anything the whole time we were there, After a minute or so I shrugged it off and thought oh well, I must have scraped it on something, And off we went to the pub.

Once we had got a drink we went to sit down and I realised the whole lower half of my body felt freezing cold, The top half of my body was a normal temperature, There were no breezes coming from anywhere and it was a blazing hot day outside, A rarity for Scotland. After w few minutes my body temp went back to normal but I was spooked by the whole thing.

When we got home I decided to do some research on Greyfriar’s and discovered that hundreds of people have reported being attacked by an unseen entity in the last few years, The entity is believed to be the spirit of George Mackenzie, Also known as Bloody Mackenzie, One time Lord Advocate during the rule of Charles ii and also considered one of the most vicious religious persecutors in history, Most of the attacks are reported to take place in an area of the churchyard known as the covenantors prison, Which is not open to the public but we had stood just outside the entrance to it, But attacks have been reported in other areas of the churchyard too.

A couple of days after we got back, My son, (who was 12 at the time) told me that for the past 3 nights, He had seen the silhouette of a man in a hat on his bedroom wall at night, We had not mentioned any of what happened to him so as not to scare him, But it left me wondering if I had bought an unwanted souvenir back home with me!

In 1977 a small semi-detached council house in Enfield, North London, became the centre of an investigation into poltergeist activity.

The case of the Enfield Poltergeist held the nation spellbound 30 years ago, and continues to this day! All manner of professions where caught up in the story which puzzlled policemen, psychics, experts in the occult and hardened reporters alike .

This May Sky Living is airing a 3 Part drama based upon the events at the house in Enfiled. Called the ​The Enfield Haunting
http://www.sky.com/tv/show/the-enfield-haunting

Enfield Poltergeist involved levitation, furniture being moved through the air, and flying objects swirling towards witnesses. There were cold breezes, physical assaults, graffiti, water appearing on the floor, and claims of matches and wiring spontaneously bursting into flame.

Mrs Harper and her four young children who lived at the property where subjected to unexplained knocking on the walls, furniture moving across a room by its self amongst other terrifying events that would lead on of Britain’s national papers into the foray. The family in the Enfield case consisted of a mother, two daughters and two sons; Margaret aged 12, a younger sister Janet aged 11, Johnny aged 10 and Billy aged 7.

Investigation

The incidents were duly investigated by Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair, both members of the SPR, who were convinced by the evidence which they encountered during their thirteen month investigation. The investigators captured the event of a chair being flung across one of the young girls bedrooms, with a signed affidavit to that effect by serving policewoman. Interference with the electrics, knocking on walls and floorboards, blankets torn from the beds, and even accounts of the children levitating in mid air all added to the horrors the Harpers had reported and now the investigative team had to endure.

Of all the accounts recorded by Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair, the most troubling is that of the daughter Janet aged 11, the young girl at the centre of the events seemingly acted as the mouthpiece for Bill Wilkins, a foul-mouthed, grumpy old man who had died in the house many years before.

Janet was witnessed and recorded speaking using false vocal folds for hours on end while she was apparently possessed by another entity. Speaking in this way is believed to be impossible, although not medically proven. When speaking with the false cords Janet said she was “Bill” who had died in the house of a brain haemorrhage. The “Bill” persona habitually made jokes and exhibited a very nasty temper, swearing at Maurice, once calling him a “fucking old sod”.

Several recordings were made of these occurrences by the BBC, who left recording devices to capture any audio anomaly’s, when the recording team recovered the devices they found the metal inside of the recording machines bent, and all recordings erased.

Later due to the mounting media interest Grosse was contacted by a man who claimed to be Bill’s son, who in turn confirmed the details of his father death and personality.

Over the course of 13 month many inexplicable events took place, at least 26 of which the investigators considered could not be accounted for by fraud. These included moving furniture, flying marbles, interference with bedclothes, cold breezes, pools of water on the floor, apparitions, physical assaults, graffiti, equipment malfunction and failure, disappearance and reappearance of objects, apparent levitations, and fires which spontaneously ignited and extinguished themselves.

Naturally, many questioned whether it was all a hoax — but no explanation other than the paranormal has ever been convincingly put forward